A Summer's Day
by Lisa Telramor
Summary: Aoko is excited to have a day at the beach. Especially since she brought her new friend Ran. Ran/Aoko


_I never seem to be able to write femslash pairings for February, but this at least I finally got something out. I've been wanting to write more ladies. 3 I pulled random names for the heck of it a while back for characters to kiss, so expect some really random fics from me for a while. Aoko/ Ran – Summer_

 _o*O*o_

Cloudless blue sky was met by a long stretch of turquoise waves and a stretch of golden sand. People and towels dotted the beach already despite it still being early in the morning. Aoko didn't care about them though, not when there was warm sand and cool water to be enjoyed.

"The beach!" she yelled, dropping her things at a free spot above tide level and running for the surf.

She laughed wildly as water surged around her toes, spinning to embrace the whole picture. I've been waiting all summer!"

"Having fun already?" Ran called from further up the sand. She and Akako picked their way closer.

"Yes!" Aoko had wanted to go so much, but you couldn't take Kaito to the beach and expect him to swim. He was too likely to run into a fish and panic. Keiko didn't like sand and burned easily. Thankfully Akako liked the excuse to wear a bikini and Ran was more than happy to tag along to play in the water with Aoko. Yet another reason Aoko was glad they'd become friends. About the only good thing to come out of Kid heists in her opinion.

Aoko left the water and charged back to where Ran was carefully laying out towels. Akako surveyed the beach behind oversized sunglasses, a satisfied smirk on her face. With reason; she had a great body and her bikini was just the right shade of red to compliment her hair.

"I'm so glad you could come!" Aoko said to her friends. They couldn't ask for a better day with the bright sun and a breeze coming off the water to keep them from overheating.

"It's our pleasure, Nakamori-chan," Akako said. She adjusted her sun hat and put her hands on her hips. "You can leave your stuff with me. I think this is the perfect spot." She was already eying some of the boys glancing in her direction. Aoko bet she'd have them at her beck and call within the hour. So long as she was having fun though.

"Thanks, Akako-chan." Aoko stripped off her jacket, embracing the sunlight against her skin.

"Don't you look nice," Akako said, still smirking. She poked Aoko's bare midriff. "Aren't you unusually bold. And Kuroba isn't here to see it."

Aoko crossed her arms over her belly, blushing. "If he was coming I wouldn't wear it," she retorted. Kaito teased her enough as it was. He'd probably annoy her half to death over showing a bit of skin.

"It's nice," Ran said. "The ruffles are cute and the blue suits you."

Aoko blushed harder. Ran was just so...nice. Akako had a sharp tongue and Kaito could be a total jerk, and while Keiko was nice, she was a bit spacey sometimes. Ran was nice and down to earth and just... Mature and pretty. Aoko wasn't quite sure what she felt when Ran complimented her. "You look nice too," she said. Ran had a one piece suit that suited her well. It was red like Akako's but a less eye catching shade.

"Thanks," Ran said with a dazzling smile.

Akako snorted. She sat on one of the beach towels with far more fluidity than such a simple motion should have had. "You two have fun in the water."

"You too!" Aoko said. She bounced on the balls of her feet as Ran took the time to put some sunblock on, offering the tube. Aoko shook her head. She didn't burn, just got tan all over. "Water?" Aoko asked as Ran finally tucked her things in a neat pile.

"Yup!" Ran said.

Aoko grinned and caught her hand, pulling her toward the water. Ran laughed, letting herself be pulled.

"You sure like the beach," she said.

"Of course! It's the best part of summer. I used to go all the time as a little kid, but most of my friends these days aren't beach people." And there were reasons why there weren't family trips anymore. With her mom gone and her dad always busy...well, she was glad that she had some new friends to go with. Aoko splashed straight into the waves.

Ran yelped as cold water splashed up her legs, letting go of Aoko's hand as her arms went up to protect her middle. "Cold!"

"Not that cold," Aoko said. She was up to her shoulders now. "You just have to go right in. It's easier than wading in."

Ran looked at the water, then screwed up her face. She ran forward and all but dived into the next wave. She came up sputtering and shaking water out of her hair. Aoko laughed at her.

"Was that so bad?" Aoko teased. She floated closer.

Ran scrunched her nose. "Yes. It's cold!"

"That's the point!" Aoko laughed. Hot sun, cold water, the perfect summer combination.

Ran stuck out her tongue and sent a splash in Aoko's direction.

Aoko grinned. It was so on. Ran shrieked as Aoko sent a much bigger splash back. In minutes they were laughing and splashing salt water everywhere.

"I surrender!" Ran said after Aoko escalated to dunking her with an enthusiastic tackle. She was warm in the cold of the ocean. Aoko was overly aware of where their bare skin slid against each other as they treaded water. "You're good at that," Ran said.

"I usually have splash fights against Kaito at the pool," Aoko said. She was more out of breath than the splash fight should have merited. "Kaito likes to play dirty so I had to be better."

Ran giggled. "We should team up some time and catch him off guard." Maybe it was light reflecting off the water but her eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual. "We should take Shinichi too and dunk him. He always tries to act like he's too old for that kind of thing."

"I should introduce him to Kaito. Kaito's like a little kid so maybe they'd balance each other out." Or Shinichi would snap and try to kill Kaito, but that would hardly be the first time someone lost their patience with Kaito. Aoko did on a daily basis after all. And if Kaito had gotten Hakuba to lighten up, he could get anyone to.

Ran giggled again. "It's a plan."

Aoko's stomach fluttered at the conspiratorial smile on her face. They were still too close after that last tackle. Aoko swum backward and pointed at a random rock a bit away. "Race you?"

"Go!" Ran said.

The swim helped settle the fluttering feeling in Aoko's stomach, replacing it with the adrenaline rush of a challenge and a good workout. Still, Ran reached the rock a few seconds before Aoko and is too nice to even gloat like Kaito always did. She even offered a rematch later.

For a bit, Aoko just floated, letting Ran swim where she wanted. The sky was so big and open here. No city skyscrapers or smog in sight, just blue expanse with wisps of fluffy white cloud and seagulls riding the air here and there. With her ears underwater everything was so peaceful. She could just drift here like this forever.

She had to move eventually though, and when her stomach started to rumble, Aoko made her way back toward Ran and the shore. "Time for a picnic?" Aoko offered.

Ran nodded. Back with their things, Akako had gathered a half a dozen hangar-ons and was sipping a fruit juice drink of some sort through a straw.

"Does she do that sort of thing a lot?" Ran asked as they got out of the water.

"Yeah." It was one of those things that either bothered people or they accepted it and moved on. "I think she just likes the attention honestly. The only person she's ever seemed actually interested in is Kaito and he doesn't like her back."

"Huh."

"She's not mean about it though. Akako-chan is just...different."

"I'd like to get to know her better," Ran said. "Since she's your friend."

Aoko smiled. "She's a lot nicer than she seems at first," she said.

Akako waved away her admirers as Ran and Aoko came over, sending them off with a wink and an implied promise to chat more later. "I saved you both some cold waters," she said, pointing to two drinks set under Akako's beach umbrella alongside her fruit juice. "The boys insisted I keep hydrated."

"Thanks, Akako-chan!" Aoko chirped.

Akako eyed the sand clinging to their wet feet and legs. "You might not want to step on your towels. Until you dry off a bit more."

"Good point." They could still sit at the edge of the towel to eat lunch though.

Ran picked up the small cooler she'd brought along and pulled out three stacked bentou boxes. "Lunch?"

"She even cooks," Akako said with a grin. "How nice."

"It's just a bentou," Ran said, handing out the boxes. "Nothing special."

Aoko begged to differ. There were four different dishes and a little salad in each box and a serving of rice on the side. It all looked delicious. "Thank you so much for making these."

"No problem. I like to cook."

"Even nicer," Akako said under her breath. Aoko poked her with a sandy toe and got an eye roll in return. "Thank you, Mouri-chan, it looks delicious."

Aoko gave thanks for the meal and dug in. It was just as good as it looked and she could picture Ran standing over the stove to get the chicken bites fried to perfection and cutting the cucumber into thin slices for the fresh pickles on the side. So good. She didn't even care that Akako was laughing at her again. "I can't cook even half as good as this."

"I'm sure you can cook well," Ran demurred, eating at a much slower pace. How did she make eating pickles look good? Even Akako's dainty eating methods didn't look that graceful. Aoko slowed down, aware that she probably looked childish in comparison.

"She can cook," Akako said, "but it's not going to have pretty results and it's probably going to be too salty."

"Tou-san likes salty foods," Aoko muttered.

"You might want to cut back on the salt. It can't be good for his blood pressure."

Aoko winced. _Kid_ wasn't good on her father's blood pressure.

"We should cook something together sometime," Ran said, smoothing everything over. "I can share one of my favorite recipes and you can show me one of yours."

Aoko smiled into her rice. "Yeah. That'd be nice." This time it was Akako's foot poking her. She tilted her head questioningly. Akako raised an eyebrow in return, but Aoko wasn't sure what she was getting at. Akako rolled her eyes and went back to her food.

She was done eating a lot sooner than everyone else. She drank the water Akako got them, letting her mind wander. Maybe they should swim more? Or play beach volleyball—people always played that in manga, right? Only there was really only Aoko and Ran to play because there was no way Akako would ever dive for a ball, and they didn't bring a ball in the first place. They hadn't brought a melon, though they did bring sparklers. Sparklers were better at night though, and Aoko wasn't sure if they could actually light them on the beach in the first place. Her eyes lingered on sand stuck to Ran's ankles... and her calves. Which were attached to her knee, which led to thigh, which—

Aoko swallowed too big a mouthful of water and slammed the bottle back to her beach towel. "Sand!" she declared as both Ran and Akako looked in her direction. "I am going to go build a sandcastle! Ran-chan, thank you for the meal!"

"You're welcome?"

Aoko hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. Maybe she could pretend it was the start of sunburn—only no, that would mean she'd have to have sun screen and maybe Ran would offer to help put it on her back—! Aaaah.

This had not been why she invited Ran to the beach. This was not how a person interacted with friends either. Aoko splashed into the ocean just to let the cold water shock her. It helped, but not much. She crouched, staring at sand and tiny pebbles and bits of shells. It figured she'd mostly worked past her crush on Kaito only to latch onto the first new friend she made. And she couldn't think of anyone more different than Kaito in all ways. How even? No. she pushed all of it back down and away, determined that it wasn't going to get in the way of the fun day. Besides, it wasn't like Aoko liked any other girl before. It was probably just. Admiration. Or a healthy amount of respect. Because Ran was an amazing person.

Blah.

Aoko scooped up handfuls of wet sand and pulled it back away from the water so she could use it to build a castle. She did mean to build one. It was a bit of a pity that she hadn't thought to bring a shovel or bucket though. That would have made it easier.

A lumpy square shape built up from the sand, then a sort of dome on top of that. It wasn't very castle like, but Aoko supposed that it would do. Artistry was more Kaito's thing. She wasn't surprised when Ran joined her. She didn't say a word, just scooted over so that Ran could have access to wetter sand as Aoko tried to hunt down different sizes of smooth rocks and pebbles.

She found ten ragged feathers, some driftwood sticks, a half of a shell and a handful of smooth rocks ranging from almost the size of her palm to barely bigger than her thumb nail. Ran, it seemed, did have artistry. She took the lumpy shape and smoothed the edges into something more square and added dribbled towers of sand. There were little indents for windows and Ran had started in on what might be a moat.

"You're good at this, Aoko said.

"Sand used to be my favorite part of the beach," Ran said as her hands scooped damp sand into valleys and hills. "You can make things in it or you can look for things. Like searching for buried treasure." She grinned up at Aoko. "One time I spent the whole day digging holes because I'd watched Treasure Island and I was convinced that there had to be something hidden in the sand."

"Did you find anything?" Aoko put feathers into the top of each tower like some sort of flag.

"I found two five yen coins, rocks, and half of a dead fish."

Aoko wrinkled her nose. "Eew."

Ran giggled. "The coins were a bit like finding treasure. I scraped my hands raw though."

Aoko, who had only dug a bit of sand, could understand why. Digging into damp sand felt a bit like digging into fluffy sandpaper. If she kept digging where the sand was more compressed, it would probably feel like scraping against a rock.

Ran used Aoko's driftwood to make a bridge over the moat and they both took turns placing smooth stones in a circle around the dome of the sand castle. By the time they were done, it vaguely resembled a building. They were also completely covered in sand.

Ran retrieved her cell phone and took a picture of it. "To keep the memory," she said. Aoko knew that with or without a photo, she wasn't going to forget this beach day.

After rinsing off the sand, the rested in the shade of Akako's parasol for a while. There were too many people at the beach coming and going for it to be truly peaceful, but Aoko felt relaxed all the same.

Akako hummed beside them. "We should get ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

"Unless you planned on swimming more?" Akako's eyebrow peeked past the rim of her sunglasses.

Part of Aoko wanted to go swim more and just float in the swell of the waves. The rest of her didn't want to move, too content to bask on a warm beach towel. She rolled to look at Ran. Ran looked just as content to lay there as Aoko. She had a bit of pink across her nose, just the hint of sun.

"Ice cream sounds nice," Ran said. A good way to round out the day since they couldn't stay forever.

They shook sand out of their belongings and packed them back up to go stand in line for ice cream. In a moment of impulsiveness, Aoko hooked arms with Ran and Akako. "We should do this again," she said. Again this summer. Again next summer. Just again, to have more moments of fun and taking pleasure in companionship. She wanted more of Akako's teasing and comfort in her own skin, more of Ran's warmth and playfulness.

"We should." It was Akako that said it, surprising since Akako wasn't really social the way most people were. She didn't spend time with people, people spent time on her, but she was a friend now and Aoko knew it wasn't just humoring Aoko these days when she agreed to come along. Aoko leaned against Akako for a brief second in thanks, then against Ran just because she could.

"To the beach," Ran agreed, "and doing other things. There's a festival coming up. Let's meet up for that."

"You can bring Shinichi and I'll bring Kaito," Aoko said, "and we can see if they balance each other out or not."

"I vote we invite Hakuba-kun too," Akako said. "I'm sure it would make an interesting evening."

Aoko nodded with a few reservations on the idea. She liked Hakuba. But Hakuba and Kaito got along about as well as oil and water mixed sometimes.

"Hakuba Saguru?" Ran asked. "The detective?"

"Yes. A gentleman," Akako said with her usual smirk. "He's make a lovely escort for an evening."

"We've met. I think Shinichi would probably get along with him. We could let the boys talk and go do festival games."

Aoko smiled. "I call goldfish scoop."

Akako laughed. Their arms stayed linked right up to reaching the ice cream stand.

Aoko got a strawberry cone, all creamy and sweet as it melted fast in the summer heat. Akako—getting a popsicle instead—stood with them eating for a handful of minutes before meeting the eye of one of the boys from earlier. Aoko saw the spark of intent in her eyes before she opened her mouth.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Watch my stuff?"

"Of course, Koizumi-san," Ran said.

Aoko hadn't really thought about how close they were standing off to the side of the ice cream vendor until Akako wasn't there to balance the scene out. Strawberry ice cream dribbled down her knuckles and Aoko chased it with her tongue. Ran ate her ice cream with a spoon, no drips at all with the little plastic dish holding it all in. Aoko opened her mouth but words didn't come. She filled it with ice cream instead.

"Thanks for inviting me," Ran said, filling the silence.

"Any time." Aoko licked strawberry from her lips. "I mean it. You can visit whenever. Call whenever. I like spending time with you and you're a good friend and I'd love to spend more time." Aoko cut herself off.

Ran was smiling at her when she got the courage to glance up. "I like spending time with you too," she said.

If Aoko didn't do something she was going to combust. Or die of complicated emotions and objectless embarrassment. She shoved her cone in Ran's direction. "Bite?"

Ran didn't even look surprised as she took a bite. "It's good." She offered a spoonful of her matcha ice cream back and Aoko's teeth scraped against the plastic spoon, chilled by the cold ice cream. It barely registered, her mind too preoccupied by the fact that Ran had had the same spoon in her mouth moments ago.

"Yum," she said. She couldn't even taste the flavor over the pounding of her heart. Could she...? Did she dare...? "Ran..."

"Mm?" She had the spoon hanging from her lips and her hair was mussed from the breeze and drying with salt water in it and there was still that pink strip of sunburn across her face. The ice cream in Aoko's hand was dripping down her wrist, but she barely noticed it. Ran's tongue licked ice cream residue off her lips and Aoko found her own tongue mimicking the action, the flowery-green aftertaste of matcha ice cream lingering on her taste buds.

"Ran-chan I...I am really glad to have you as a friend," Aoko said, chickening out last moment.

Ran blinked at her. Her head tilted to the side, something contemplative crossing her face. Aoko couldn't quite look at her face for more than a moment. Aoko didn't want to ruin it all. Not their friendship or the day.

"Aoko-chan." Ran's fingers, cold and a bit damp from the ice cream container, touched Aoko's cheek. She jumped, looking up. Ran had a smile on her face, but her eyes were serious. "I like you too."

Ice cream dribbled down Aoko's elbow as she gaped. "What?"

"I'm glad to have you as a friend and," Ran leaned in. Aoko's eyes couldn't get any wider. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her ribs with how fast it was beating. Ran's lips pressed hers, damp and just a bit sticky and shockingly cold from ice cream. It was chaste, a there and gone brush of lip on lip, but it was enough for Aoko's knees to wobble and her face to burn. "And I like you too," Ran finished, a blush blending with her sunburn.

Aoko licked her lips. Matcha and bitter sweet. "Oh."

"Oh finally," Akako said.

Ran and Aoko jumped apart. Aoko hadn't even realized they'd been gravitating closer and closer until that moment. Her brain felt like it had fled with the kiss. It couldn't be healthy for her heart to beat so fast or for her breath to keep catching in her chest. "What?"

"You are both sickeningly obvious," Akako said. She grinned and bit into her popsicle. "I thought you were both going to be idiots about it," she said after swallowing the bite. "I underestimated you Mouri-chan."

"Akako-chan!" Aoko squeaked.

Akako rolled her eyes. "You have no idea how much of a third wheel I felt watching you stare at each other when the other wasn't looking. By the way, your ice cream is turning into soup." She nodded at Aoko's cone.

Aoko shoved the sticky mess into her mouth like it could stop her face from burning. Ran held out a handful of napkins as Aoko struggled between too big of a bite, brain freeze, and trying not to choke on melted ice cream and waffle cone bits. She looked about as embarrassed as Aoko though she was handling it with more composure.

"I hadn't realized you were paying that much attention," Ran murmured. She helped wipe ice cream residue off Aoko's arm.

Akako snorted. "I have eyes. And flirting doesn't take that much of my attention." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm glad for you two. You're cute together. In a cloying overly sweet way."

Ran raised an eyebrow. "Thanks. I think."

"I think I'm going to go back into the ocean and drown," Aoko mumbled, finally swallowing the last of her cone.

"It's not that embarrassing," Akako dismissed. "Kuroba-kun has flashed your panties to the whole class. Objectively speaking, that is far more embarrassing."

"Has he now?" Ran asked, getting a strange look in her eye that reminded Aoko of the time Ran literally kicked the butt of someone that tried to steal Aoko's purse.

"Kaito's an idiot," Aoko said. "Idiots get whacked with mops."

"Hm." The look didn't leave Ran's face.

"Are we about ready to go?" Akako asked. "The next bus is leaving in fifteen minutes. By the time we get back to Ekoda, it will be almost dark enough to pull out those sparklers."

"Ran-chan?" Aoko asked.

"If you're both ready, I am," Ran said. She had finished her ice cream, the container tossed into the nearby garbage can like the considerate person she was.

"Lovely." Akako finished her treat and tossed the stick toward the garbage can. It went in by a narrow margin. She strode forward, passing people parting for her like she was a queen as she led the way. "Let's go so we don't miss that bus."

Aoko laughed softly, still off kilter. Ran shook her head. Neither of their blushes had quite faded. Ran held out her free hand. "Shall we?" she asked.

Aoko looked at the hand for a moment before smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. "Yeah!" All the back and forth nerves of the day seemed to transform into a giddy rush of energy. Ran liked her! Her! Liked Aoko! She took Ran's hand and twined their fingers together, so wonderfully aware that she could and didn't have to wonder if it was crossing a boundary.

This was the best day ever.


End file.
